Xfinity Internet with pfSense and Orbi in AP mode
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Re: Netgear Orbi RBR50 no Internet Connection in AP Mode
My issue looks similar to this one posted back in 2020.
I've added a pfSense device between my modem and Orbi mesh system. I think it's a pretty simple setup.
Netgear modem --> pfSense --> OrbiI'll try and describe my setup as much as possible:
Modem: No changes, ethernet from modem to pfSense WAN port
pfSense: LAN port is set to IP 192.168.5.1, DHCP server turned on, WAN port set to DHCP, ethernet from LAN port to Orbi WAN port
Orbi router: Set to AP modeMy laptop is plugged in directly to the Orbi router. Now, I have no Internet connection from the laptop (hardwired or wireless) and no Internet from any of the wireless devices throughout my house.
One thing I have not done is reboot the pfSense device and then power cycle the Orbi. I just made the configuration changes to both and thought it might just kick in.
Any settings I am missing or suggestions? Maybe something on the pfSense machine is blocking the Internet connection? I cannot get to the pfSense web portal form any devies on my network, so I would have to make the changes from the terminal.
Thanks for any help or suggestions.
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@filmfanatic70 When you set a consumer router in AP mode, you basically turn off the firewall and DHCP service. And since the firewall sits beteween WAN and LAN, you can no longer use the WAN port.
So I think all you need to do is to move the cable coming from pfsense over to a LAN port on the Orbi, and then it should work as expected. You are basically turning the Orbi into a glorified switch, which involves the LAN ports and WIFI.
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Oh good lord. Is that all it is(was)?
I'll make the change at home, restart all the devices (just to be safe) and report back.
Thanks!
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@filmfanatic70 said in Xfinity Internet with pfSense and Orbi in AP mode:
Is that all it is(was)?
Hopefully yes...
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No luck. Orbi shows purple light on top. No hardware or wireless connectivity.
I reset the pfSense to factory defaults. Disconnected everything except for the WAN port to my modem. After booting, the WAN port connected, it says “no link up detected”. Its going through the interface configuration and it stuck on “Configuring WAN interface” for a good five minutes.
When the menu finally came up, I chose 13 which is to update from console. It says “failed to read the repo data” and “Failed to update the repository settings”.
WAN (wan) -> bge0 ->
LAN (lan) -> em0 -> v4: 192.168.1.1/24No address showing for the WAN interface.
Do you think it’s a problem with the WAN nic? -
I think I may have fixed it. Rebooted the modem and now the WAN port shows an address. Rebooted the Orbi router and made sure it's in AP mode. The color indicator on the Orbi router is solid purple/magenta, which indicates that it has no Internet connection. However, everything is working.
Thanks for the "move the cable" advice.
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@filmfanatic70 Great that it worked, And yes the Orbi shouldn't have any "internet" connection, at least not as indicated by the light. It should be possible to access the UI. Perhaps you need to check that you don't have it's IP conflicting with pfsense? If it also had 192.168.5.1 before?
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@Gblenn I'm able to check the UI and everything is working great. Thanks for your help.
I'm using Bandwidthd to get device data usage. All working well, except that I'm trying to figure out how to translate the IP addresses, listed in the report, to hostnames. The instructions I found online reference older versions of pfSense and the interface/choices have changed in this newer version. Something about setting up DNS Forwarding? Any ideas?
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@filmfanatic70 Hmm could it be this setting that you are after... although I'm using the resolver, not forwarder.
It's under Services > DNS Reslover (or forwarder if that is what you prefer).
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Those are the settings that I have seen when researching online, but I cannot find them. I'm on pfSense version 2.7.2.
Here are the screenshots for the DNS Resolver section.
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They are only shown if dhcpd is enabled on at least one interface. Which implies it isn't in your config.
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DHCP was already enabled for my LAN interface.
What I did find out is that those two DNS Resolver settings only show up when using the ISC DHCP option. I switched that to the Kea DHCP option when I first logged into the web portal.
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@filmfanatic70 Hmmm ok well my screenshot was from a 2.7.2 installation. I switched back to ISC after some issues...
But this is interesting.. things that happen when using KEA, seem unrelated to DHCP, but if there is such a clear integration/connection to DNS, it would explain why "internet connection is lost" in some cases.
@stephenw10 how is this supposed to work when using KEA then, if that option isn't available? Would selecting ISC and turning on those functions and then returning to KEA work? Or are they turned off when not available?
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The option is moved to the DHCP server setup page when Kea is running in 24.11. You can now choose to register leases from each interface separately if required.
